A Fight from Chains
by writing-at-random
Summary: Sequal to Merlin and Mayhem: Arthur starts to ask questions and an unlikely visitor knocks on our favorite warlock's door asking for his help. Then when Uther finds out some dangerous news about Merlin, it's clear that things won't go as planned.
1. Too Many Questions

**A/N: Sorry it took so long for the sequel, but school is proving itself to be utterly horrid! I thought I should finish this tonight since I will be gone all day with my BFF! Now enough of my mindless babble and onto the story!**

**Disclaimer: Still, even now I don't own Merlin.**

"No, no more questions!" Merlin begged as he and Arthur walked in the courtyard. All week Arthur had been bombarding the poor warlock with questions about everything. He was surprised that the prince hadn't asked why the sky was blue! This interrogation stuff was getting on Merlin's nerves and even though Arthur knew this, the questioning never stopped.

"How long have you been seeing that annoying dragon?" Arthur asked quietly.

"I don't know, maybe a year or so." Merlin answered as he pumped the water into the bucket. "It's my turn to ask something. What's with all the questions?"

Arthur shrugged. "I just realized that you practically know all about me and I don't really know you. That's all." Merlin groaned at this. He sometimes wished that Arthur didn't know about his powers. "Have you ever used, you know," a guard walked by. "on your chores?"

"Of course I do! Arthur, the jobs you give me are ridiculous." He picked up the heavy bucket and continued to walk, Arthur right at his side.

"Well, that does explain a lot." Arthur said more to himself than anyone else. They reached Arthur's chambers where Merlin sat down on a chair. The prince stared at Merlin. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Merlin pulled up a chair for him to sit down. Arthur kicked its leg. "Not the chair, you idiot, my lunch!"

"Oh," Merlin hopped up and once again walked out the door with Arthur. "You know Arthur, you're a great friend, but sometimes you can be such an ass."

"Likewise." He said his tone dark. Merlin chuckled and took the plate from the kitchen staff with a thank you. They all were surprised to see the prince himself in the kitchen with his manservant. Arthur chuckled a little and nodded his head in acknowledgement towards the shocked staff.

"If you keep coming down there, they're not going to think you're the prince." The young warlock teased.

"Yes, you're very funny, _Merlin._" Arthur folded his arms. Merlin rolled his eyes and handed the lunch over. Arthur took it and offered an apple to Merlin who snatched up the juicy, red fruit hungrily as they turned into Arthur's chambers.

Merlin quickly finished his apple and threw it at Arthur's head, missing my inches. "Dang!" he said under breath.

"With all that magic, Merlin and you can't even aim straight." Arthur teased. The young warlock ignored the statement by looked out the prince's window to see the hustle and bustle of last minute chores before lunch. "Merlin, day dreaming are we?"

"What? Oh sorry." He turned back to his master waiting for his next duty.

"I feel a bit bad about asking this since it isn't exactly in the job description, but as friend do you think you could go down and get some flowers?" Arthur handed him three silver coins. Merlin raised his eyebrows. "They're for Morgana. I would get them myself, but my father told me to train the knights at one o'clock and that's in ten minutes." Arthur dropped his tough-guy façade for a second. "I'm your friend for life, Merlin. Please?"

"Sure, but for the record you didn't need to go into a whole speech just to ask." He tightened his grip on the coins. "I would have said yes."

"Thank you, Merlin." He said gratefully.

Merlin closed the door behind him, headed for the market trying to catch the flower shop before they closed for a noon meal. "Princes!" he muttered under his breath. Not that he knew very many, or just one, but still. If they were all like Arthur when they first met, then he felt pity for the other menservants.

He arrived at the market just in time. The grumpy man wasn't going to listen to Merlin's pleas for him to stay long enough for him to buy the flowers until Merlin told him it was an order from his Prince of Camelot. He would have laughed at the old man's expression except for the fact that it would be disrespectful. He didn't need any enemies, he was sure of that.

The manservant decided on some pink flowers that he forgot what were called. All he knew was that Morgana would like them and that was all that mattered. Merlin stared to embark on his journey back to Arthur's room when a tall man stopped him.

"Excuse me." he began. His beard was jet back and he was dressed in a long, dark blue cloak. This man seemed familiar, but Merlin couldn't quite put his finger on it. It must be nothing. "Do you happen to know where I could find the court physician, Gaius?"

"Oh yeah, just go down that hall and take a left. There's a sign posted." The warlock answered with a smile. The strange man nodded and left in the direction he directed him in.

He shook it from his mind and headed into the castle. The halls were mostly empty, so Merlin wasn't too embarrassed when he stumbled over his feet. His cute, klutziness, and boyish charm was the perfect disguise for a powerful warlock who lived in a non-magical kingdom, but the klutziness he could do without.

He reached Arthur's door and walked in. The prince was training with the knights so there was really no need to knock. Merlin sat the flowers down in a vase and filled it with water. He smiled to himself and laid back in a wooden chair right next to the table with the flowers. Gradually his eyes closed until he fell into darkness.

THE MYSTERY MAN

He followed the boy's directions until he found a sign that said COURT PHYSICIAN. The man knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. Finally they did.

"How can I help you?" an old man asked. The physician was at least a head shorter than him.

"I was looking for someone. He's an old friend." The man explained. "I do believe he is your ward."

"Ah yes, Merlin. He might be in his room. I was on my rounds, so I don't know if he's returned yet." The physician let him in and knocked on another door at the other side of the room. There was no answer. "I'm sorry he must be out still."

"It's perfectly fine. I'll be around, so surly I shall catch him sooner or later." The man smiled and walked out the door, very agitated.

ARTHUR

The prince had just got done with training his knights when he remembered the flowers he had asked Merlin to get for him. "Brilliant job, everyone. We will train again Wednesday." He hurried back up to his room. What he saw took him by surprise.

No, it wasn't a Questing Beast or a Griffin ready to kill, but a Merlin sleeping with his head on the table and spilt water all over his hair. His hand must have knocked over the vase and by now the flowers had been crushed by Merlin's hands.

Arthur quietly walked over to Merlin's ear. Softly he whispered into it. "Merlin, you're in your underpants in the middle of the market."

The warlock shot his head up and immediately looked down to see if he had pants on. There was a dumbfounded look on his face before he turned to him will a death stare. Arthur was cracking up, not even paying attention to Merlin's glare.

"That wasn't funny, Arthur."

"Yes it was." He calmed down. "I'm sorry, it was too tempting."

Merlin shook his head and looked at the table to see the flowery mess. _"Cleario flokery."_ In the blink of an eye the flowers were back in the vase that was filled with the spilt water and the flowers looked as good as new.

Arthur rolled his eyes and sat down on his bed. "I just thought of another question to ask you."

"Hmm?" his servant asked.

"What about your father? You never talk about him. I mean, I know your mother, but not your father." Arthur asked. Suddenly the light atmosphere changed.

"What about him?" Merlin asked very harshly.

"Well, where is he?"

"He's dead to me." Merlin's tone darkened, his jaw clenched.

Arthur began to become concerned about his friend. "Is there anything you would like to talk about, because you know you can talk to me?" he offered.

"There's nothing to talk about, Arthur, alright? Just forget about it!" Merlin got up and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

**A/N: So… Watcha think? Don't forget to review!**


	2. History

**A/N: Hey there! Sorry it took so long… again! Here is the second chapter and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I love writing it!**

MERLIN

The young warlock practically ran back to his chambers. Gaius clearly didn't know how to react to the usually calm boy's sudden bad mood. Merlin ignored all of the physician's words and went directly into his room. No, an evil sorcerer wasn't making him fume like he was. The source behind of his anger was a very long story.

Gaius came into Merlin's room with soup. He placed the wooden bowl on his bed and walked out. The servant wasn't in the mood for company and was glad that he could simply eat in silence. Unfortunately, the much needed quietness gave him a lot of time to think. He wished there was some sort of magical spell to rid him of his unwanted thoughts.

Just because he had nothing better to do, he grabbed his spell book and started flipping through its old pages. Merlin sat the book on his lap, then picked it up and hit himself on the head. Don't worry; it was intentional. Of course, that could make one worry.

"_Merlin…?"_ a deep, wise voice said.

"I'm not coming." Merlin said simply.

"_Merlin, come now_!" the dragon demanded.

"_I said no."_ This wasn't the right time for the young warlock. He groaned and threw his book on the floor and gently laid his aching head on the soft, fluffy pillow.

"_Merlin?"_ a voice said.

"_I said no, now go away!"_

"_Is that anyway to talk to your future king?"_

Merlin shot up in bed. "Arthur?" he asked aloud. There was a knock at his door and Merlin said a quiet "Come in."

Arthur stepped in with a concerned look. "I still can't believe that works." He said whilst tapping his forehead. Merlin couldn't help but chuckle at his friend. "You left pretty quickly and I just… I wanted to say… sorry. I didn't mean to offend you if I did."

"I know. I'm sorry, too. Just old memories brought back, it's nothing." Merlin said waving it off lightly. Arthur bowed his head, his blond hair falling in front of his sapphire eyes.

"Merlin, I've known you long enough to know that when you act like that, it's not nothing." He said with an all-knowing tone. Arthur bent down to pick up the discarded magic book and gave Merlin a strange look. "You threw your sorcery book on the ground? Now I know something's wrong with you, Merlin."

"Really Arthur, it's just a personal thing." Merlin said throwing his pillow at the prince who allowed himself to get banged in the head- just this once.

"Alright, you don't have to tell me." Arthur said after he placed the book on Merlin's bed and reached for the door handle. "I mean, it's not like I'm your friend or anything." The prince shrugged as the door slowly creaked open.

"Arthur," Merlin said with a slight smile. "Fine, I'll tell you." He gestured for the prince to sit on a chair next to the bed. Arthur took the seat and Merlin began his story.

"When I was little it didn't take my mother long to realize that I was… different. When I was old enough to understand, she told me to never tell my father about my gift." Merlin saw Arthur's look of confusion. "My father hated magic almost as much as Uther does, so basically I wasn't his ideal son." He explained. "I didn't really get why I couldn't tell my own father, but I didn't go against my mother's orders. One day I slipped up, though. I went outside to get an apple, but it was too high up. Instead of asking my father to get it, I used magic to retrieve the fruit when his back was turned. Unfortunately, he had turned around in time to see…" Merlin trailed off for a moment, reliving the memory before he continued. "Anyway, that night I heard my mother and father fighting and that's when he decided to abandon us. I was five then."

When he was finished, he watched as his friend took in every word he had just spoken. Nothing came from his lips, but his eyes told all. It was clear he felt sorry for the warlock, but also the same malice Merlin had towards his long lost father.

"So your own father turned his back on you, just because you had magic?" Arthur asked astonished. Merlin merely nodded in response.

"It gets worse." He said. "I got a call from the dragon earlier."

"Again?" the prince asked. "Wait, what does that have to do with your father?"

"Nothing, I just thought I should put that out there." The servant shrugged and the boys chuckled quietly for a second.

"_Merlin?"_ the voice came.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I didn't say anything." Arthur said.

"_Merlin, can you hear me?"_ the voice said. It sounded feminine.

"I know it wasn't you. You're not a girl." Merlin said looking at the door.

"Good observation, Merlin." Arthur said sarcastically.

"It must have been Morgana." He said more to himself then to Arthur. _"Morgana, what's wrong?"_ Merlin asked mentally.

"_I had a nightmare and I have a feeling that there is something you're not telling me about them." _ Morgana concluded. Merlin chewed on his lower lip, looking at Arthur.

"_I'm coming to your chambers."_ He thought and got up immediately. The prince stared at the warlock as he made his way to the door.

"Merlin, what are you doing?" Arthur asked following him.

"I have to go see someone." The young warlock smiled a little before walking out.

ARTHUR

The prince was left alone in his servant's room, wondering why on earth he would have to go see Morgana. Arthur stood up from his chair and picked up Merlin's mystical spell book from the bed. Opening it, he saw that most of the writing was in a different language. Before long, he got a headache and placed it gently back in its hiding spot.

Arthur's thoughts turned back to the story Merlin had told him not ten minutes ago. How could his father be so cruel? He then thought of how _his_ father would react if Arthur told him that the son of the very person who hated magic above all things, had magic.

The outcome wouldn't be pretty.

Or even Morgana for that matter. Just because she was only a ward, Uther still loved her.

The door opened slightly. Gaius was peaking in the room, looking at the lonely prince. "Sire, I would thought that you would have left by now."

"I was just about to. Sorry, Gaius." He got up and strolled out of the room.

MERLIN

The warlock walked quickly to the Ward's chambers. He had no idea if he should tell her about her gifts or not. Magic has so much drama involved. Merlin groaned as he knocked on the door, not even close to ready to face Morgana. He'd rather face Uther, though he didn't know why.

"Come in."

Merlin slowly opened the screeching door and stepped in. Morgana was dressed in a beautiful, long green dress with Gwen at her side. The maid was dressed in her usual yellow attire.

"Well?" Morgana asked cocking her head.

"I… um… your dreams…" Merlin had no idea how to continue.

"I'm a Seer, aren't I?" she asked suddenly.

This took the warlock by surprise. "Well, uh, what did you dream about?" he asked scratching his head.

"Don't bother changing the subject, Merlin." She said will a roll of her green eyes. The Lady Morgana stood there without saying a word until Merlin finally decided to give in.

"Um, yeah." He whispered. Morgana broke into a small laugh along with Gwen. Although, it looked like Gwen was simply laughing at her Lady's reaction more than anything.

"Thank you for not lying to me, Merlin." She said with a smile. He bowed his head and nodded.

"Now, what was your dream?" he asked, curiosity in his voice. Morgana's blissful grin quickly changed to a serious and hard expression.

"Close the door. This can't leave the room."

**A/N: So? What did you think…? Please review it!**


	3. When Swords and Magic Clash

**A/N: Thank all of you for your reviews! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! Here is the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it. Oh, and this fanfic won't contain any spoilers for the second season for all of us in America!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, if Merlin was mine, it would be airing in the US by now.**

GUINEVERE

The Lady Morgana and Merlin were standing there, just staring at each other. Gwen could only wait and see if either of them was going to share. It didn't really surprise her that the king's ward was magic, for she had been suspecting it ever since her first dream came true.

There Merlin stood, a little shocked, but still standing none the less. It seemed that it had been only yesterday when Merlin had told her who he really was, but it has been months. His magic still takes her by surprise, though.

"Merlin, I fear…" Morgana paused, tears starting to form in her green eyes. Gwen walked over to her and put a hand on her Lady's shoulder.

"Morgana, what is it?" Merlin asked hesitantly. It was clear that whatever Morgana had dreamt, it wasn't good. She took in a slow breath before continuing.

"Uther found out about your secret." She said quietly. Gwen gasped softly at her words. "And he gave the order for you to be executed." Morgana dropped her gaze, waiting for someone to say something and end this awkward silence.

"H- how did he find out?" Gwen asked, anxiety filling her voice.

"That's what I don't know. I didn't see that part. I'm so sorry, Merlin." Morgana said. The young warlock nodded, giving them both a slight smile. "Just be careful, Merlin."

"Don't worry, I always am." The smile on his face almost convinced Gwen- almost. "Gwen, don't look so worried. It'll all be fine." She grimaced and Morgana gave her a comforting hug.

MERLIN

The latest news Merlin received had him shaking on the inside. He would have to be more careful than ever, now that Uther could find out. The sorcerer politely bowed out of the room and headed back to his chambers. He needed to know what Gaius would think about all this.

Merlin pushed the door open to find the physician working away at his bench mixing some red liquid with a green one. He cleared his throat.

Gaius looked up from his work. "Arthur left." He informed him. Merlin nodded and sat down in a chair. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. You had a visitor earlier."

"A visitor?" he asked skeptically, forgetting all about Morgana's dream for a second.

"Yes, he said he was an old friend. He should be coming back tomorrow." He told the boy. Merlin cocked his head to the side. "For now, get some sleep. You look tired."

Merlin nodded and walked silently to his room. He crawled in-between the sheets and stared at the ceiling. It was a cool night and the moon was shining brightly. Everything seemed fine and at piece, unfortunately that feeling wasn't inside the warlock. With the possibility of execution on his mind, he had a very troubled night; tossing and turning in bed about dreams he couldn't remember when he awoke in the morning.

As always, Merlin got up from his bed and tied his treasured red neckerchief around his neck. Today his mystery visitor that he's supposed to know might come. This should be interesting. Once he was finished getting dressed, he heard voices. He walked out into the main room to find Gaius and Arthur talking.

Arthur was first to notice him.

"Merlin, do you know what time it is?" he said being very cocky. Merlin slapped himself on the head.

"I'm late again, aren't I?" he asked feeling dumb. Arthur gave a sarcastic smile and nodded. Gaius shook his head at Merlin. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to yourself." What was that supposed to mean? "Because you slept in, we won't be gone as long as I had hoped." For the first time, Merlin saw that the prince was dressed in armor and had his sword on his belt.

"Where exactly are we going?" Merlin asked, still half asleep.

"You'll see. For now, go ready the horses and I'll meet you outside the stables." Arthur ordered before walking to the door. "And, Merlin," he added seeing Merlin's tired expression. "Splash water on your face or do whatever sorcerers do to wake up."

Merlin laughed as Arthur walked out. He grabbed some bread and walked to the stables. The servant successfully got Arthur's horse and his own ready in less than twenty minutes. He was feeling proud of himself just as Arthur walked up him.

"Horses are ready." Merlin said confidently.

"Good. Let's go." Arthur hopped on his horse, not waiting for Merlin and took off. "Come on, Merlin!" he called from over his shoulder.

Merlin quickly jumped on the startled horse and raced after the prince. Arthur led the way as the warlock followed him deep in the forest. Curiosity finally got the best of him.

"Arthur, what are we doing?" he asked from behind.

"That's for me know, and for you to find out once we get there." He said lazily.

"Get where?!"

"Shut up, Merlin." He rolled his eyes at his master and did as he was told. After another thirty mind-numbing minutes Arthur finally stopped and got off his horse. Merlin did the same. They were in a small clearing not ten feet in length, tress surrounding them. "Here we are. This looks good, doesn't it?"

"Um, yeah I guess." Merlin answered extremely confused.

"Now, to answer your question." The prince walked to one side of the clearing and pulled out his sword. He swung it around, showing off. This made Merlin step back.

"What are you doing?" he asked hesitantly.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Trying to kill me…?"

"No, you idiot, you're wrong. I want you to fight back."

"I don't have a sword."

"We both know you don't need a sword to fight, Merlin." Arthur said lowering his sword.

"You want me to use magic. On you." This took him by surprise. The prince is going crazy. That's the only explanation for this mad talk.

"Yes. Well, you're supposed to be some prophesized warlock that's going to help me become king or something, and you can't exactly practice in Camelot. That's why we're out here. No one is here and you can practice." Arthur explained, giving Merlin a smile. He clearly thought he was a genius for thinking of this.

"Right…"

Without another word, he swung his sword at Merlin who barely managed to dodge it. Merlin kept moving backwards, away from this mad prince. Arthur had him cornered when Merlin spotted a root in the ground right by his master's feet. His eyes went gold and the root came up, tripping Arthur. The warlock smiled with satisfaction.

He recovered quickly and took another swing. This time he slowed down time to dodge the fast swing, leaving Arthur baffled. "Now I know how you beat me that first time." Arthur mumbled. Merlin couldn't help but chuckle.

This time Merlin took the first move, making the prince fall backwards. His sword flung out of his hands and stabbed into the ground. He got up and raced to retrieve his sword. Merlin beat him to the punch. His eyes flashed gold and the sword lifted up into the air. Arthur took a cautious step back, looking at Merlin, trying to see what was going to happen.

The sword moved so that the tip of the blade was at Arthur's neck. Merlin had a triumphant smile plastered across his face. "Do you give up?" he asked.

"That was… pretty good." Arthur admitted his hands up in defeat. "Almost as good I would have been." He teased.

Merlin laughed and moved the sword high up into the air. When it reached a branch with many leaves, the blade twirled around cutting the foliage off. They fell through the air like confetti and landed on Arthur's head. He looked very annoyed by his servants prank.

The blade lowered, the hilt facing Arthur for him to take it. Merlin gave him an apologetic smile, trying to stiff a laugh.

"Good Lord." A voice said. Both their heads turned to see who was watching them. Merlin had lost his concentration and the sword fell.

The man was the same person who had asked Merlin for directions to Gaius' chambers.

**A/N: Ok so sorry about the corny fight scene. I suck at them. Well, please review if you want the next chapter!**


	4. Unlikely News

**A/N: Once again I shall thank you kindly for all the reviews and everything! This chapter won't have much of a cliffhanger if it has one at all. Yes I know that cliffhangers are cruel, but they are so much fun to write! At least I think so… Well hope you like this chapter and don't forget to click the little review button at the bottom!**

**Disclaimer: Merlin isn't mine, nor ever will be. It's the sad truth…**

MERLIN

Merlin opened his mouth to say something to this familiar man, but nothing came out. He and Arthur exchanged glances, neither of them knowing what to say. It was so quiet; you could hear the rustle of every leaf.

"Who are you? What's your name, boy?" the man asked skeptically, almost as if he already knew the answer. Merlin looked at Arthur. The prince gave a slight nod.

"M-Merlin." He told the stranger.

"You have yet to tell us who you are." Arthur said, the prince in him showing.

"I am Adam, My Lord." Adam took a bow. His long, blue robes blew in the wind and revealed a knife. By the look on Arthur's face, he had seen it, too. "Merlin knows me, don't you?"

"You're the one who asked for Gaius." The warlock said bemused.

Adam shook his head with a small laugh. "Other than that." He said with his arms folded. Merlin racked his brain for any clues as to who this man was. Nothing came to mind… unless… no that is not possible.

"Sorry, no." was all he could say. Arthur picked his sword up from the dirt and held it firmly in his hands. The tip was pointed at Adam.

"Tell anyone what you just witnessed and you will have to deal with me, personally." Arthur threatened. Just then Merlin remembered that this person had seen him do magic. The poor warlock felt dumb for realizing that threat only now. Morgana's dream came back to his mind.

"I wouldn't dream of it, sire." Adam said with another bow. "The punishment for sorcery in your kingdom is death, correct?" Arthur nodded and Merlin stiffened.

"That's right."

"Don't worry, Merlin. I can't afford to turn in someone that I need help from." He explained. Merlin's eyes narrowed.

"What do you need my help with?"

"Later. First of all, you need to know who I am." Adam paused and glanced at the prince. "Sire, do you mind if I talk to your servant alone?" he asked kindly. Arthur nodded and tapped his temple sending the warlock the gesture.

"Now who are you?" Merlin asked harshly.

"I guess there is no beating around the bush with you is there?" Adam laughed slightly before continuing. "Honestly, I'm surprised to see you don't recognize me. Although you were very young last time I saw you." Merlin was getting impatient with this man. "All right, I'll tell you." He held up his hands in a defensive position at the sight of Merlin's impatience. "I'm your father."

"My what?" he asked with exasperation. A mixture of anger and shock was plastered across Merlin's pale face. This couldn't be happening, could it? His father left him and he never would have imagined that father coming back looking for his son's help.

"I'm your father, Merlin. I know I wasn't the best father in the world, but…" Adam was looking at the ground, not wanting to see the look on his son's face.

"Not the best father in the world? I don't think that even covers it!" Merlin yelled. His voice echoed through the trees causing birds to fly away quickly.

"Merlin, quiet down please. I understand that you would be mad…"

"No, you don't understand. You don't understand anything that I went through!" The warlock usually felt bad about yelling, but this time he did so mercilessly. "You left us and now you have the nerve to come here and ask for my help? Do you really expect I'd give it to you?" Merlin turned his back on his newly found father and headed in the direction Arthur went.

"Perhaps in time," Adam said.

"I'm leaving to go do my job. I'm loyal to my prince. Maybe you should figure out what that means." He shot back at Adam and walked swiftly off, stumbling over a rock as he went.

ARTHUR

Merlin stepped out of the tress quietly. His head was down and he had an evil look. "I'm going to guess that things didn't go very well with your father." Merlin's head shot up. "I heard you yelling. All of Camelot probably heard you." Arthur teased.

"Can we just go home?" the warlock asked desperately.

"Of course we can." Arthur said calmly. They mounted the horses and headed towards the castle. It was dead silent the whole way back which made Arthur feel a bit uncomfortable.

Once back in Camelot, Merlin put the horses away and did all his chores without argument. The thing that shocked the prince the most was that Merlin wasn't using magic. Nowadays he uses his gift freely in front of Arthur, but not today. The work took twice as long because of this and Arthur was getting fed up with the silence.

"Alright, Merlin, tell me what's going through your idiotic head." Arthur ordered.

Merlin gave him a glare before answering. "Nothing, just…" he stopped to look the prince right in the eye. "I don't know how he expects me to trust him."

"Well, if I were you, I wouldn't forgive him easily. Make him work to gain your trust." Arthur offered. Merlin nodded and continued sweeping. The awkward silence returned.

MERLIN

Arthur had dismissed him and Merlin walked sheepishly back towards his chambers. Every thought he could possibly think filled his mind. Morgana's dream still lingered in there, but it was hidden behind his father coming to Camelot in search of his help. Help with what? So many questions and not enough answers.

Gaius served dinner and then he chatted on about how the king has increased his guards in search of magic and something about hiding a book. After a while, Gaius saw that Merlin wasn't paying attention and sent him to bed. The warlock obeyed without a word or a bite to eat and slid under the covers.

Unfortunately, he wasn't tired and even when he tried to sleep, it never came. He was stuck lying there looking at the ceiling wondering what was going to happen tomorrow. Then it occurred to him. The dragon had called him earlier.

Merlin got up and snuck out the door without Gaius waking up. He crossed the courtyard unseen and made his way down the long tunnel until he reached the cave.

"Hello?" he shouted.

The dragon swooped down and sat himself on a rock looking at the young warlock. "You took your time, Merlin."

He ignored the dragon's words. "Why did you call me?"

"I wanted to warn you." The Great Dragon said simply.

"Warn me about what?" Merlin asked exasperated.

"Uther Pendragon is becoming more twisted and engulfed with his beliefs about magic."

"Yeah I know. Keep my head down and all that." He said annoyingly. The dragon looked at him curiously. "Morgana had a dream." He explained.

"Aw yes, her powers are growing."

"Well if that's all then I'd like to go back."

"Very well, but be cautious." With that, the dragon flew out leaving Merlin with a torch in hand. The warlock rolled his eyes and slowly walked back to bed. He'd come all that way for a minute conversation.

He laid his head down on his pillow again. "Keep my head down, as usual…" he said aloud before drifting into a land of dreams.

**A/N: Review! It would be appreciated!!!**


	5. More Than Treason

**A/N: Well, this chapter was very fun to write I must say! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!! Thanks again to everyone who read, reviewed, favored and all of that!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin :(**

MERLIN

"Of course I will, Gaius." Merlin said to his guardian in much higher spirits than the night before. He took the bottle full of a form of pain reliever. The physician asked him to take the potion to the king for his old battle wound. Merlin had agreed and started off on his errand.

It was a bright, sunny day. The sky was clear and the birds were twittering their song. Everyone he passed even seemed to be in a good mood. Perhaps the prince was happy just like his people! Maybe even the king- if that's possible. Yes, everything was perfect. "_I hope I didn't speak too soon!"_ Merlin thought, but shoved it from his mind. Today, nothing was going to bother him.

He reached the kings chambers and knocked, something he would never, ever do with Arthur, but this was the king after all; the very person who would have him beheaded so being on his good side was always an asset to Merlin. There was a booming 'enter' and the servant stepped through the door.

"My Lord, Gaius told me to bring you your medicine." He said politely as he bowed.

King Uther turned to face the servant. Usually when servants had to see the king face-to-face they tremble exceedingly, but not this one. "That'll be all." The servant bowed again and was about to leave when Uther remembered something. "Wait."

Merlin stopped suddenly. Did he know something about yesterday? Was this the moment he always feared would come? The young warlock took a deep breath and turned back around to see a stern king. "Yes, your majesty?"

"You are my son's servant and I want you to keep your eyes out for magic and if you even think you see anything, report it to Prince Arthur!" he ordered quietly, but in a threatening tone that screamed 'or else'!

"I will, My Lord. Have a great day." Merlin bowed out of the room before another order came to the king's mind. He went down to the kitchens and got Arthur's breakfast that the staff always lays out for him, knowing how late he usually is.

"Arthur isn't with you today?" Julia asked smiling. Her sandy blond hair was pulled back into a bun with many strands falling out. The cook was as shocked as everyone else when their prat of a prince showed up in the kitchen.

Merlin chuckled. "No, and for once I'm not running late!" Julia narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"Merlin, it's almost nine."

The warlock's eyes widened and almost dropped the plate of scrumptious food. "Uh, never mind, Julia! I'll see you later!" He heard Julia laugh as he ran out as quickly as he possibly could without dropping the breakfast, or tripping over air.

Unlike with the king, Merlin simply walked in Arthur's chambers. The Crown Prat was looking out his window, clearly lost in thought.

"Arthur?" he asked whilst setting down the tray on a table.

"Hmm?" Arthur asked and turned around; surprisingly not mad to see Merlin in his room, uninvited. "Oh, Merlin, what are you doing here?" the question wasn't harsh, but curious. Merlin took a step back.

"I'm your servant." Merlin gave him a skeptic look. "Who are you, and what have you done with Arthur?"

"Shut up, Merlin."

"No, you're defiantly Arthur!" the warlock rolled his eyes. "What's wrong?" Merlin asked sensing something was troubling his friend.

He cleared his throat before speaking. "My father has exceeded the limit this time." Merlin waited for him to continue. "His hatred with magic is getting out of control! I've learnt from you about magic, but there is just no talking to him! He's arrested a servant, accusing him of sorcery. I know in my gut that he's innocent!" Arthur paused and looked down at the floor. "The man has five children and a wife. He's not a sorcerer and he's going to get executed, leaving behind a family."

Merlin knew where this was going and although he agreed with it, he also feared it. "You'd be going against your father."

"I don't care. Does that mean you'll help me break him out?" Arthur asked his eyes bright. Merlin shook his head and sighed.

"Of course I will, on one condition." Merlin said hesitantly. Arthur gave him an unbelieving look, but said nothing. "When we get caught, break me out!" Merlin joked but they both knew it was a deadly possibility. Of course, Arthur wouldn't have anything to worry about. Unfortunately, Merlin would.

"I promise, now we need a plan." Arthur said deep in thought. "Do you mind using your magic?" Merlin shook his head and they both sat down at the table ready to commit treason.

*****************************

Prince and warlock sat with their heads together. They ran every plan possible through using apples as the guards and grapes as themselves. Although, the tactics they came up with was easy enough to pull off with a fruit kingdom, but the outcome of how the plan would work when they actually executed it was unpredictable.

The execution was scheduled for tomorrow at noon and at midnight tonight Merlin and Arthur would break the man out of his cell unseen by King Uther, the guards, or anyone else who would turn them in. It was easier said than done.

Merlin knew that Gaius would be worrying by the time it was eleven. Arthur sent a servant to go tell the physician that Merlin was staying late because of his little gift he decided to pull. The servant couldn't make any sense of the message, but it wasn't his job to ask questions only to pass on the word. Arthur and Merlin hoped that Gaius would understand what they were really telling him.

The clock struck twelve and they both new that it was now or never. On the way to 'part 1' Merlin pictured what the man would look like when he saw the prince of Camelot deceiving his king and saving his life.

Part one was easy enough to do. Merlin had to scare the guards off long enough for him to pass by them. He would be meeting Arthur near the dungeon steps.

ARTHUR

As quickly as possible, Arthur gathered three horses and led them into the sleeping town. Once he reached the desired house, he tied the animals to a pole and knocked softly on the door. It took a while for someone to answer, but when they did a woman was standing in the door frame dressed in a worn out nightgown.

"What on earth…?" then she saw who it really was staring down at her. "Prince Arthur! What can I do for you?" the woman bowed. Respect was clear, but so was her anger at the royal family.

"You can wake your children and get ready to leave." Arthur said quickly gesturing towards the horses. The wife was confused, that was clear. "Your family is going to leave Camelot. With your husband." He added.

"What… I… I don't understand!" she said bewildered.

"I believe my father is wrong of sentencing an innocent man to death, so we are breaking him out. You must understand that you can never return to Camelot until Uther's rein is over." Arthur warned.

A hundred different expressions crossed her face until she settled for pure joy and hugged the amused prince. She backed away quickly. "I'm so sorry, My Lord."

"Don't be sorry for giving someone a hug." Arthur smiled lightly at her, and then gave her the directions on what to do when she had her husband back.

Arthur, once finished with the first task, went to the stairs to meet his friend, key in hand.

MERLIN

He saw Arthur coming closer with a triumphant smile. "I take it things went well with this wife."

Arthur nodded. "The poor woman didn't know what to say."

Part one was finished and on to part two! Two guards were standing by the cell, blocking the door. _"Sl__ǣ__p__e"_ Merlin muttered under his breath, knocking the guards out immediately.

"Good, now come on." Arthur ran forward and unlocked the cell. The man inside was shocked beyond belief at the sight of the prince and his servant.

"Don't worry; we're taking you back to your family. They are waiting at the gate." Arthur told him whilst unlocking his shackles.

Suddenly there were loud footsteps coming closer. "Arthur!" the warlock warned quietly.

"I know, Merlin!" he said. Arthur groaned in frustration. "They won't unlock!"

"Stand back." Merlin ordered. He put his hand over the stubborn iron cuffs. _"Onlucan_" The shackles unlocked and fell to ground with a bang.

"You…" the man said in amazement.

Merlin smiled. "Never would have expected it, would you?" The man shook his head and Arthur pulled him along.

The footsteps broke into a run and Merlin and Arthur and their fugitive ran right into a guard. "What the…?" he asked going from Merlin to Arthur to the ex-captive.

"_Fléoge"_ Merlin shouted and the man was flung back and against the castle wall. Unfortunately, Merlin knew that that guard would remember what had happened. Ignoring this, the three of them continued through the castle and out into the courtyard and finally to the gate where his wife and children were waiting.

"Cal!" the woman yelled as she embraced her husband into an ironclad hug. The two of them faced Merlin and Arthur. "How can we ever thank you?"

"No thanks necessary." Merlin said proudly. The family gave one final 'thank you' before mounting the horses and riding off into the distance.

Arthur and his trusty servant walked back up to the castle, ready to finally get some much needed rest, when the guard who was the victim of Merlin's magic came walking up.

"King Uther, that's him. That boy, Merlin, he's the sorcerer!"

**A/N: Dun, dun, dun! Evil cliffhanger! Review and you shall receive the next chapter!!!**

**xoxoxo**


	6. Double Trouble Yet Again

**A/N: Sorry it took so long but with school, Homecoming, tests, and essays, there just wasn't time to get on my laptop and write! Well, here it is and thank you to all who reviewed and I really love it!!! =D**

**Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to the BBC and not me.**

MERLIN

The warning bells sounded minutes later. It seemed the whole kingdom had awoken from their warmth and safety of the beds just to see what was going on outside. The guards had surrounded Uther Pendragon whilst a search party was forming to find the escaped prisoner. Only Merlin and Arthur hoped that the man and his family were long gone from Camelot thanks to Merlin's unplanned distraction. No, of course the guards hadn't forgotten about their fellow guard's accusation. The poor warlock was being held by his arms and Uther was listening to the guard's story.

"I saw them, My Lord! His eyes turned a different color, gold I think. Then that Merlin did something evil to me that knocked me out cold!" It was clear that he was exaggeration the story and turning it more into a tale. Despite this, Uther's eyes widened. He obviously didn't care what Merlin had to say.

"I didn't do anything evil to him!" he yelled desperately. At least Arthur was helping with the argument. Still, his father seemed reluctant to listen to anything!

All of the people who had come out of their homes were now listening in. He scanned the crowd, getting some mothers to hurry their children back into the house and away from the dangerous sorcerer, Merlin. He did recognize some faces; Gaius, Gwen, Morgana, even some fellow servants that worked in the castle. The one that stood out most of all was the blank face of his father. When their eyes met, his father shook his head at his son as if disappointed with him. Merlin glared at the man, his magic boiling in his blood wanting to use his gift so badly.

"He lies!" the guard yelled bringing him back to reality and shot Merlin a deadly look as if saying _'got you now'_.

"Father, I demand you release my servant at once!" Arthur demanded as the warlock tried to break free from the two bulky guard's ironclad grasp on his now aching arms. "We've been through this. Merlin isn't a sorcerer. I think I would know if he was!" he turned to face the struggling servant. "Merlin, tell him you're not!" he ordered gesturing towards his furious father. "_Just this once be good at lying, Merlin."_ Arthur thought to him.

Merlin took his wide eyes off of Arthur and onto Uther's hard, cold eyes. _"Don't stray far from the truth, Merlin. You can do this!"_ Uther's eyes bore into his own. _"You can't do this!"_

"Well, boy?" the king yelled.

"I… I'm not a… not a sorcerer." That was probably the worst lie in history! Maybe Uther was convinced…

"Lies," he barked. "Send him to the dungeons!" Apparently, he was not convinced. Defiantly the worst lie in the world. "Arthur, I will hear no more out of you." The king said as he turned his back to his son who continued to fight with his ignorant father.

"Father, you must see reason!" Arthur rolled his eyes in frustration and turned to Merlin. He got so close that the warlock could feel his breath on his pale face. "You couldn't do better than that?" he growled angrily.

"Sorry,"

"You better be sorry!" the prince snarled. He turned to the guards who held scrawny Merlin captive. "Let him go." Arthur demanded.

"I am sorry, sire, but it is King Uther's orders to throw him in the dungeons." The one Merlin's right said through his helmet. Both of the guards walked right past Arthur without a glance back. Merlin could only imagine the kind of trouble he had gotten himself into. Arthur couldn't even do anything. Once he was king he would be able to, but that he was not. And now Merlin will never get to see the future Camelot because he will be dead. Would there even be a future Camelot since it is him destiny to help the prince and all?

This he did not know. He did know that he was thinking of his death too soon. Perhaps this wouldn't be the end of Merlin and Arthur's 'coin'. This thought was washed away immediately when his body hit the hard ground of the cell, knocking Merlin headfirst into the wall.

ARTHUR

Arthur rushed after his father after seeing Merlin escorted deep down into the dark dungeons. Uther was back at his thrown a minute later, a great smile on his face. This only infuriated Arthur even more. The king saw his son walk in and put on a straight face.

"I understand that you must feel betrayed, but it is good that we finally captured the threat." Uther said with sympathetically. Arthur moved closer to his father- something he never dared to do when he was a mere child.

"Sire," he lowered his voice to a light, but threatening whisper. "Merlin isn't a threat and never was! He can't even handle a sword and if he was going to kill us, wouldn't he have done it already?" Arthur questioned sharply, his voice rising.

"Arthur, he is a sorcerer! Now I will hear no more of this or I will lock you up as well." Uther leaned lazily back in his thrown gesturing for Arthur to leave. This was ridiculous! His own son was defending a sorcerer!

The prince stormed out and up to his chambers, anger in his heart. Arthur plopped down on his mattress, trying to think of a way to get Merlin off the hook with Uther. Was that even possible? At this point, it didn't seem likely and with Uther and magic…

There was a small knock on the door. "Leave." Arthur ordered. The door opened anyway, reminding him of how Merlin acted. Rolling his eyes he sat up to see what they wanted.

Leaning up against his door was Merlin's father, Adam. "My Lord," he greeted kindly.

"What do you want?" Arthur asked. If Merlin didn't trust him then sure as hell Arthur wouldn't trust him.

"I came concerning Merlin. Word is that he's been captured by King Uther, your father." He said reminding Arthur of a fox; sleazy and sly. "I need to see him and only you can arrange that without creating suspicion."

"It's too late for that."

"I see." Adam paced Arthur's chambers before continuing. "I still have the right to talk to him. He is my son after all." He began talking again seeing that the prince was about to protest. "_Sire_, If Merlin agrees to help me then I can help you get him out of that dingy cell of yours, or rather, King Uther's."

"What do you need help with?" Arthur asked roughly.

"Now, My Lord, surly you understand that it is only Merlin's business since it is in his area of experience." Adam giving Arthur that all-knowing stare and was about to leave the prince to ponder over all of this when he stopped. "Think about it. Arrange for me to have a conversation with my son and see him escape, safe and alive. Or simply forget about it and watch your servant die at the hands of your father!" he hissed and slammed the door behind him.

Arthur was left dumbfounded and staring at the door. Only one thought was concerning him; what to tell Merlin?

GAIUS

Earlier, late at night when he had been performing a fascinating experiment concerning mandrake root and an unknown plant, the old physician had received a strange message from a stuttering servant. He said that it was from Prince Arthur regarding his servant.

Gaius' first thought was that Merlin had done something wrong _again_ and that was why he was running so late. Then when the servant had said something about Merlin's 'gift' he knew exactly what was happening. They were going to break that accused sorcerer out of the castle dungeons.

Of all the stupid things those two have done, this was by far the worst and the best at the same time. Gaius was so proud, but so worried about his ward. Although he knew full well that Arthur would never let either of them get caught, still he was bothered.

When the clock struck midnight, the sound of panic filled the kingdom. Half of that had to do with the earsplitting scream of the warning bells. Gaius walked out into the courtyard just in time to see two big guards snatch up Merlin on Uther's orders. Arthur was standing next to him, arguing with the king fiercely without success.

He quickly walked out to join the gathering crowd. Gwen was crying fiercely on Morgana's shoulder. It was clear that her mistress was trying to be strong for her friend, although Gaius could see that she had a single tear rolling down her cheek.

Gaius' worst nightmare had come true. Merlin's deadly secret had been revealed.

MERLIN

This wasn't happening! It couldn't be. It just couldn't! Everything had been going perfectly throughout the whole mission. Merlin should have known that _something_ was going to happen because of that exact reason. Hopefully Arthur would live up to his promise.

The only flaw in that promise was that Merlin would have to run from Camelot, never to see Arthur, Gaius, Morgana, or even gently, loving Gwen again until Arthur was king. Who knows how long that would take?

As far as he was concerned, he was pretty much screwed!

**A/N: Review! It makes me happy!! :)**


	7. The Warning

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews! I LOVE them so much!! :) Here is the next chapter to my story. Please review so I know how I did!!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin…blah…blah…blah…… lol**

ARTHUR

Merlin had been in his cell for more than twelve hours by now. Arthur continued to pace his messy chambers, recalling every conversation he had had with Merlin and Uther. His father allowed Arthur to speak to the prisoner only if he would search the kingdom for whatever evil this _Merlin_ had done. Of course he had agreed he already knew he wouldn't find anything.

*************

The prince descended down the long stair case towards the dungeons. It was extremely hard to see down there except for the dim light illuminating off of his torch. After he passed all the sticky cobwebs and the crumbling walls, he saw the two guards safeguarding Merlin's cell. Inside the iron bars was a lanky, black-haired boy with a dirty red neckerchief. Maybe it was dirty… It was hard to tell anything in this lighting.

As he became closer the guards stiffened back into position. With the most authority as possible Arthur spoke, startling Merlin.

"Leave." When the guards only exchanged looks he tried again. "I said leave. It wasn't a request!" Arthur said angrily. They both bowed their heads and left in an instant; a small wind blew his blond hair. Arthur turned to his tired servant sitting on the hard floor.

"Arthur, what are you doing here? I thought Uther wouldn't let anyone come down here. I've really screwed things up this time…" Merlin babbled on until the prince raised a hand to silence him.

"First of all, yes you have. Second, we need to figure out a way to get you out." Arthur put his hands on his hips and looked the cell up and down as if it will simply crumble and all of their problems would be solved. If only it were that easy!

"I don't know…" Merlin looked at the ground.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?" Arthur snapped. "What else could we do?"

"You know it as much as us all. Uther is completely ignorant when it comes to magic and there just is no talking sense into him now." Merlin explained. "He's too engrossed with the whole 'magic is evil! Off with your head!' deal and has a one-track mind."

Arthur pondered over this thought for quite some time, knowing full well that it was the truth. "This is true, unfortunately. I promised I would get you out." Arthur folded his arms in frustration. "And I will." With that, he left Merlin with a small wave over his shoulder. He ran swiftly up the stone stairs without a glance back.

*************

Immediately he realized that Adam was right.

Arthur dashed out of his chambers and briskly walked to the courtyard. Once he found his target standing at the apple stand, he went over and grabbed his arm. "You're coming with me." he snarled. Adam turned around and smiled at the angry prince. This man was too savvy for his own good.

The prince guided Merlin's father towards the dungeons so they could have their little chat. If that's what it takes to get Merlin free, then Arthur would allow it. Whatever it takes…

MERLIN

The young warlock heard pounding footsteps coming his way. There were no guards right now, which was strange but both of them kind of knew that Merlin wouldn't try and escape. Well at least one of them did.

Two people rounded the corner and out came Arthur and… his father. Oh great. That could only mean one thing; trouble, again.

Arthur led Adam to Merlin's cell bars before disappearing behind a wall. Adam turned to face his son. Merlin laughed humorlessly and stood up to face him.

"Merlin, it's so very good to see you again." His father said with a sly smile.

"Yeah, I'm sure it is." Merlin said skeptically. "What do you want?"

"Well, if you remember that favor I was asking…?" Merlin nodded slowly. "You see if you agree to help me then I can help get you out of here." Adam continued after no response, but leaned in closer so only Merlin could hear. "It is simple with your _gift_ to do something like this. All you need to do is once you're out, help me take over Camelot." He had said it so calmly and with so much confidence that Merlin couldn't help but freeze in shock.

"You want me to take over Camelot?"

"Yes. Merlin, these people don't know who you really are. They won't appreciate you and won't respect you."

"Kind of like you." It wasn't a question.

Adam ignored this. "Uther Pendragon and his son will bow down to you and you will no longer have to live in fear of death." He assured Merlin.

"I'm not committing treason, or everything King Uther says about sorcerers will be true!" Merlin snapped at him.

"Oh Merlin, come to your senses! Life will be so much easier without the Pendragons around." Adam said laughing.

"Arthur is my friend!" Merlin's anger was building inside of him and his magic boiling in his blood.

"Arthur is no friend to you. He will only bring you down."

"No he won't!"

"Think about it, Merlin."

"I don't need to, to know what my decision already is."

Adam was taken aback by his son's immediate veto of this brilliant scheme. "Fine, Merlin. You didn't inherit any of my smarts it seems." He stomped off leaving Merlin angry and nervous. Did this mean that Adam was still going to try and take over Camelot? He had to warn Arthur.

"Arthur?!" he yelled into the darkness.

No reply.

He waited before calling helplessly again. Merlin's heart skipped a beat when he once again heard the sound of feet. This had to be Arthur!

The source of the footsteps came into view. All of Merlin's hopes fell. Uther Pendragon was staring deep into his frightened blue orbs. "My… my Lord," he stuttered.

"Your yelling is disturbing everybody!" he boomed. "Shut up this instant or your execution date will be moved up!"

"I'm sorry, sire, but I have to warn you that someone is going to try and take over Camelot!" he said as calmly as he possible could in front of the king.

Uther walked off. "Why should I believe sorcerers?" he clearly wasn't going to wait for an answer.

Merlin was back to sitting and waiting, waiting for death, waiting for the kingdom to crumble before him, perhaps. He didn't know. He kicked the ground in pure rage. The thought of magically breaking down the bars was too tempting, but he knew that would be stupid. The guards would come running and he would be right back to where he was now! There was no point in that.

He laid back on the scattered straw and fell into a deep sleep.

By the time he had woken up it was the very next day. One day until execution. Merlin tried to look out the small cell window. All he could see were feet walking and hear people talking. At this time a maid came down with his lunch.

"I have food for the sorcerer." She said to a guard who had just recently been stationed at this post. He nodded and unlocked the cell. She stepped inside and set it down at his feet.

"Thank you." Merlin said as cheerfully as he could. The maid gave him a slight smile in return.

Merlin could have sworn he heard "Uther's so very wrong" from her as she left. Merlin laughed to himself at what he thought he heard. It was good to know that someone knew how wrong Uther really was.

Just as he was about to take a nibble of the molding bread, there were screams coming from outside. Not just one or two people, but the whole kingdom it seemed.

**A/N: I'm so sorry for the cliffy, but it seemed right to end there. Please review for the next chapter!!!!**


	8. Trust is a Battle Part 1

**A/N: So so so so sorry it took so long! But here it is and it's the longest chapter yet. Tell me what you think about it!!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Merlin.**

MERLIN

"What's going on?!" he yelled as loud as he could to the outside world. The two guarding Merlin's cell weren't answering- probably because they didn't know either- but simply stared at each other in panic. The screams got louder and louder. The warning bells began to ring. The kingdom was engulfed in panic and chaos and Merlin couldn't do a thing about it!

Merlin kicked the wall as hard as possible and ignored the blistering pain in his right foot. There had to be something he could do, couldn't there? He had to try.

"Look, you need to let me out of here." He said to the two. One of them chanced a glance back at Merlin but turned his head back at once. "I'll even come back voluntarily. I just need to help!" Merlin offered.

"Maybe we should," one said quietly to the other on the right. He looked at him as if he were a mad man.

"Are you kidding? Uther will have our heads!"

Suddenly, King Uther himself appeared before Merlin's cell. His crown sat proudly on his head as his red cape blew from behind him. "Bring him to the throne room!" he boomed. The guards reacted immediately by unlocking the door that blocked the warlock from the rest of the world. They dragged him out by his arms and led him up the stairs.

They reached the throne room after what seemed like forever. The first person Merlin saw was Arthur standing at the side waiting for this father to return. When the prince looked up from the floor, he was clearly surprised to see his friend out of the dungeons and up here standing right next to him.

"What's going on?" Merlin whispered to Arthur. The guards still had him restrained.

"Release him." he ordered. Luckily, the guards did as they were told. Arthur turned to him with a glare. "Adam's got some followers." He explained. Merlin's blue eyes grew huge.

"You mean…?"

Arthur nodded.

"How did you know about this?" Uther demanded shocking Arthur and Merlin back to the real world. "I said how did you know?"

"Uh… they told me they were going to destroy Camelot." Merlin responded with as much respect and backbone as he could conjure up.

"What do you mean they told you?" Uther asked bewildered.

"That a… that person came to me and asked me to join them."

"They WHAT?!" he yelled making the walls shake. Even the guards jumped in the air. Merlin nodded trying to compose his face back to a calm expression; proving to be an extremely hard task to accomplish. Uther got up from his chair and walked onto the floor. Arthur and Merlin took a small step back not wanting to face Uther's oncoming wrath up close.

"Yes, sire, but I turned them down instantly!" Merlin said, the truth glowing in his eyes. "I would never join…"

He didn't get the chance to finish, for stone above Uther's head crumbled into huge pieces and were falling at an extremely fast pace. It all seemed to happen in a dramatic slow motion, because it did.

Merlin reacted quickly. His eyes flashed gold on instinct. The world around him slowed and he looked at Uther who was looking up at the killer stones, frozen in shock. Arthur's expression was not quiet fear, but very close. The prince was clearly wondering if his warlock friend was doing anything. He didn't want to wait. Arthur raced- as fast as possible when you are going extra slow- to where his father was standing.

Merlin, able to move faster than anyone else, caught his master's arm and shook his head. The warlock mumbled a spell quietly with his arm outstretched and his eyes once again were gold. Arthur turned his head back to look what he was doing. Uther was not flung back like he would have done with any other person, but was carefully moved forcefully out of the way.

Time resumed as normal and the stone crashed onto the floor with a _boom_ so loud everyone in the room had to cover their ears. Dust floated everywhere making it hard to see two feet in front of you. Whilst Uther was detracted by the mystery of how he wasn't mashed underneath the heap of rock, Arthur stepped towards Merlin.

"You do realize that you just proved your magic in front of the very person who could have you executed for it?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

Merlin nodded. "Well, what else could I do?"

"Thank you, Merlin." Arthur said sincerely. Merlin nodded again a bit embarrassed.

"What did you do?" Uther asked Merlin not harshly but truly curious.

"I just did what I had to do. Sire." He said quickly a little nervous of where this was going.

Arthur put his hand around Merlin's shoulder. "You see, father? Merlin can't even hurt a fly!" Arthur said happily, hoping the two of them had finally convinced King Uther to let Merlin go. "He's no threat. The only thing he could be is a vital ally! Just don't ask him to lie. Merlin's horrid at that." Merlin rolled his eyes at this reminder. Arthur took a step forward.

The king looked from the pile of rubble to Merlin to Arthur and back again. "I should have you thrown back in the dungeons this very second." He said. Merlin lowered his head solemnly. "Sorcerers aren't to be trusted, but since you seem to know about this chaos going on, I won't." Merlin looked up at this shocking answer. Could this really be happening? "If and when you defeat whoever is doing this, I shall see about locking you back up or not." He threatened.

Merlin smiled with pure joy. "Oh, thank you, thank you!" he said excitedly. Arthur rolled his eyes, a smile on his face as well.

"Come on, Merlin." Arthur urged. Merlin bowed to Uther and ran out with Arthur. They walked together, heading to the courtyard, to the chaos. "So, what are we going to do?" the prince asked to brake the awkward silence.

"I have no idea." Merlin answered simply enough. "Magic?"

Suddenly, Morgana came from around the corner, running with dry tears on her cheeks. She didn't see Merlin, but went right up to Arthur. "Arthur, what's going on?" Arthur pulled his hands behind his back and took a step back nodding his head towards the person standing next to him. Morgana's eyes widened immensely. She mouthed 'Merlin?'

"I guess your dream didn't come true after all!" he said very giddy. Morgana embraced him in a tight hug instantly, squeezing all the breath out of him. Merlin felt his shirt getting wet from Morgana's tears of joy. She released him from her grip and turned back to Arthur.

"How come you didn't tell me you were planning to get Merlin out?" Morgana asked hurt

"I didn't tell you because I didn't." She gave him a puzzled look. "My father released him, believe it or not." Arthur finished and both boys chuckled as her mouth opened and closed without any sound coming out.

Merlin was first to speak again and pointed in the direction of the screams. "We sort of have…"

"Right," Arthur said. "Morgana, we are going to have to cut this reunion short. Now, you need to get back to your chambers and stay there until one of us comes and gets you!" he ordered.

Morgana reluctantly nodded and hugged the prince before she waved goodbye to Merlin and headed back to her room.

Arthur and Merlin once again began their quest to the courtyard. They ran by passed out guards and servants. Some of them might have even been dead. Merlin shuttered. They finally reached the source of the panic.

Three sorcerers were standing ten feet away from each other casting spells like mad! Servants were getting caught in the cross fire and collapsing in every place imaginable. Blue flame was being thrown onto roofs of houses and destructions spells were being aimed straight at the castle making the walls crumbled mercilessly. Standing directly behind the three sorcerers was Adam himself, watching his master plan in action.

Merlin marched over to the four. When the first sorcerer on the left saw the innocent looking boy with a determined face walking over, he smiled and shot a fireball at Merlin's chest. Merlin reacted just as quickly and deflected it. The sorcerer was shocked to see that this feeble, young kid had such power, but this didn't throw him off one bit.

The warlock saw it coming. Too predictable. Merlin threw the sorcerer off his feet and onto the stone wall before a spell could escape the stunned man's shacking lips. "One down…" he whispered. Unfortunately, this only alerted the other two and Adam.

Adam saw his son and ordered these sorcerers to ignore him and walked over to Merlin. "How do you like my plan so far?" he asked enthusiastically.

"It is horrible." He answered coldly.

"And you're going to stop me?" his father asked unbelievably. This only irritated Merlin even more.

He nodded. "How did you get them?" Merlin nodded his head towards the other two.

"Merlin, no one can resist the temptation of money and power."

"I did." There was a long pause after that. Spell after spell was running through Merlin's head. He finally settled on one. He took a few steps backwards and raised his arms dramatically.

"What are you doing, Merlin?" Adam asked rolling his eyes.

"_Flieica"_ his eyes flashed bright gold and Adam was lying on the floor unable to get up or breathe. Merlin walked over to him, his arm outstretched again. But before he was able to mutter another incantation, Adam snapped his fingers. The two sorcerers still conscious turned to see their master on the ground.

In a blink of an eye they were gone. The only one left was the sorcerer Merlin had fought.

An eerie silence broke through the kingdom. People began to regroup and help those who were wounded. Two guards came over and restrained the unconscious sorcerer. Some servants stared at Merlin, wondering why he was out of this cell; to kill them all, perhaps. Others didn't seem to care at all and some were grateful.

A woman walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Thank you," she said quietly with a small smile before walking off to help.

Merlin was left both happy and offended at the same time, but this wasn't a time to think of that. He needed to join in with getting these people into the castle. He saw that Arthur was also helping, and those he helped were shocked to see their prince tending to servants of all people.

By the time everyone was pretty much finished, Arthur came over to him. "So, he's gone?"

Merlin shook his head. "He'll be back soon."

"I see…" Arthur murmured.

Uther came over to the two boys and they fell silent. "Did you solve the problem?" he asked.

Merlin shook his head. "Only temporarily," the king noted this. His distrust was only too clear.

"For your sake, you better stop him the next time he comes around." He turned around and marched away without turning back.

"What are you going to do?" Arthur asked with his arms crossed. Merlin shook his head.

"All I know is that this is going to be a very long week." Merlin commented. Arthur snorted and walked off into the castle.

**A/N: Please tell me what you think! Review!!!**


	9. Waiting

**A/N: Thank you all so much for all the reviews and favoring and alerting, etc… It all makes me feel so great! Writing this story has been so much fun, so far. I only wish I was able to write more in a less amount of time, but school has my life tied up and you've probably read that so many-a-time. Here is the next chapter. Tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine, and will never be mine, ergo, me not taking credit! :)**

MERLIN

He woke up to the bright sunlight shining in on his face. Merlin found that he had a blistering headache and put his hand on his forehead. It probably had something to do with the dream he had had that night. The weird thing was it was extremely vivid!

Merlin got up, got dressed, and walked into the main room where Gaius was sitting. He joined the physician at the table, hand still firmly on his temple.

"Anything wrong?" he asked Merlin. The warlock shook his head.

"No, not really, it's just this dream I had last night." He explained. Gaius put down the Latin book he was reading and concentrated more on Merlin's story, urging him to continue. "The strangest thing, but Uther found out about my magic and had me arrested. Then he let me go and I had to fight a sorcerer." Merlin snorted at this foolishness. "Imagine, Uther letting a sorcerer go free!"

Gaius looked at Merlin with that you-really-are-crazy expression. "Merlin," he sat his hand on top of his wards. "That wasn't a dream, it really happened." Gaius said slowly so that Merlin could comprehend. Merlin snorted again then got serious and cocked his head to the side like a curious puppy.

"Merlin!" a voice boomed as the door flung open. Arthur, wearing his maroon jacked and brown pants, strolled over to the table and picked his servant up by the neckerchief. "When my father is keeping an extremely close eye on you, this wouldn't be a good time to be late to your job working for his son!"

Merlin stood up, still dumbfounded. "So, I'm alive?"

"You won't be for long if you keep up your regular routine." Arthur warned. "Come on!" He shoved Merlin out the door with a wave to a laughing Gaius. When they reached an empty corridor Arthur started talking. "Gwen told me that Morgana had a dream or a nightmare, since she woke up screaming. Now, I don't know if they come true but I have an open mind." He paused. "Adam is coming. Tomorrow."

Merlin blinked. "He's coming tomorrow?" Arthur nodded a little annoyed. "Wait, why couldn't you talk to me about this in front of Gaius?"

"Because I didn't know if he knew about your father. Does he?" he asked.

"Well, no, but…"

"You really are an idiot, Merlin."

Merlin scowled. "I'm tired. Sorry for not being fully tuned this early in the morning!" he said holding his hands up in surrender.

Arthur ignored this. "Look, we need to make a plan…"

"We need to see Morgana." Merlin said quickly.

"Why?"

"Why do you think? She's the one who had the visio… dream!" Merlin corrected.

Arthur looked at him skeptically. "It's a wonder how you kept your magic a secret this whole time. Come one, spill."

"Morgana was the one who had the dream, so she might know something important."

"No, not that, what you said before." Arthur said.

"Said what?"

"You know! You were about to say something else then you said some other thing."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"I don't know. You're the one acting crazy." Merlin said. He patted his friend on the shoulder. "Should I be concerned about you?"

"Shut up." Arthur said harshly as they went to Morgana's chambers. Merlin knocked lightly on the door. "Why can't you knock before you enter my chambers?" Arthur asked.

"Because it's fun to annoy you," Merlin said quickly before slipping into the Lady Morgana's room after he heard an 'enter'.

Morgana was in her flowing, blue dress standing at the window. Gwen was sitting on her mistress's bed folding what appeared to be a red dress.

"Merlin!" Gwen said astonished. Merlin suddenly remembered that Gwen did not know about his recent freedom, only that he had been locked up and sentenced to death. She got up abruptly. Her arms were around him before he had time to say 'hello'!

"Hi, Gwen, it's great to see you, too." Merlin laughed at his girlfriend's reaction and pulled her into a small kiss. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"That's enough, you two." Arthur commented, nettled at his servant. The prince turned back to the king's ward. "Morgana, we came to ask about this supposed dream that you had."

"How did you…"

"I told him." Gwen spoke up still in Merlin's arms. "I had run into him earlier."

"Literally," Arthur said under his breath. "Anyway, we were wondering if there were any details you could share with us." He offered. Morgana nodded as she looked at the floor. There seemed to be pain in her eyes.

"All I could see was a man that looked like the one that Merlin knocked to the ground." Merlin winced. "There was fire and smoke and that was all. The only other thing I can recall was that it takes place tomorrow. I'm sorry I cannot be of anymore help to you."

"It's alright, Morgana. We will be ready for anything!" Merlin said with great confidence.

At that time Uther walked through Morgana's open door. "Sorcerer!" he said observing the servant girl standing _very_ close to that sorcerer.

Merlin looked at Arthur.

"It's your new name." he whispered with a slight chuckle.

"You _will_ fix the ceiling in the throne room and the rest of the castle that was destroyed." The king ordered. "You have until the end of the day and you can do nothing else until these orders are carried out, or it'll be the dungeons."

'Sorcerer' bowed his head. "I will do that, your majesty."

"I know you will. Now, get to it." He stormed out to wherever leaving the four alone again.

"Great." Arthur said sarcastically.

"I better get started if we want to do any planning for tomorrow." Merlin said shrugging his shoulders.

"Shouldn't you have told Uther about the attack?" Morgana asked.

"And tell him what?" Arthur asked. "That his ward had a dream? It's not that much to go on for him."

Morgana and Merlin exchanged looks. _"No, I didn't tell him."_ Merlin thought to her.

She nodded. Arthur and Gwen looked from Morgana to Merlin and back again, knowing that they are missing something.

**********

Merlin and Arthur went back to his chambers, greeted by a startled Gaius. "You do know that the king is looking for you, personally?" he asked.

"Yeah, I know. He wants me to fix the castle before the end of the day or I'll be back in a cell." Merlin explained. He went in his room and lifted the loose floorboard. There really wasn't a reason to hide this sacrosanct book of his anymore, he realized.

He flipped through the pages looking for a spell, any spell that would help him out. Merlin's eyes went gold and the magic searched for him, turning page after endless page of his book until it stopped on one page.

Arthur stared amazed at the scene unfolding before him, but was used to it by now. When the pages stopped moving he moved to look over Merlin's shoulder.

"Fitelerty ihe coober?" Arthur asked reading the spell aloud.

"_Fitlerty hef coulbr"_ Merlin corrected. "It will repair the damage that was done."

"Good, let's get to it."

The two boys walked quickly to the throne room. Guards and servants stared at them as they passed.

Once they reached the great room that was decorated with red and gold flags, Merlin went to work immediately. He stretched his arms out. "_Fitlerty hef coulbr"_ he murmured.

Instantly the pile of rubble flew up into the air and back onto the ceiling, connecting like a puzzle. Merlin smiled at his mini triumph. "Shall we move to the outside?"

The prince nodded and they headed out.

"Wow, they sure did a lot of damage." Arthur mumbled as he saw the crumbling stone walls. One of the towers was missing. After further interrogation, they found part of it on the ground behind a wheel barrel.

"_Fitlerty hef coulbr"_ he said again. People in the streets stopped to stare at his open use of forbidden magic. A small girl came up to him, thumb in mouth, and tugged on his pant leg. Merlin looked down at her and bent down to her level. "Can I help you?" he asked playfully.

She took her thumb out and with an adorable lisp, she spoke. "How you do dat?"

Merlin's smile touched his eyes. "Magic,"

Her green eyes widened with amazement. "But King Ufer banded magic!"

"I'm helping King Uther out with a few things. He needs me!" He explained softly.

Arthur chuckled.

The girl for the first time saw the prince standing next to Merlin. "Pince Arfer!" she exclaimed. Arthur nodded and stepped back, letting Merlin take the spotlight again.

"Karen?" a woman shouted in worry. The little girl looked back at the worried woman and waved.

"Is that your mom?" Merlin asked her. Karen nodded. "She seems pretty worried about you. Maybe you should go back to her." He suggested eager to get back to work.

"Kay." She said sadly.

Merlin stood up. "Madam, I found your daughter." He called out. The lady walked over to him.

"You…" she trailed off as she pulled her daughter over to her.

"Found your daughter?" Merlin finished her sentence, knowing full well that that wasn't what she was going to say. "Yeah, I did. She came over to me and I was just talking to her."

"T-thank you, uh…"

"Merlin," he smiled politely.

"Merlin," she corrected and walked away quickly.

The young warlock was left felling a little better about everyone knowing his secret. "Come on, Merlin. Get back to work." Arthur reminded him.

"Right," he said and stated the spell again and again and again until his job was finally complete. By now it was sunset and it was time to plan for the oncoming battle.

They went back to Merlin's chambers and took all of Gaius' books that they needed off the shelf including Merlin's magic book. Arthur knew that one spell book wasn't going to be enough.

ARTHUR

He left Merlin behind, letting him hit the book whilst he had other plans for his warlock servant. The prince had no idea if he could convince his father of this bizarre request, but it was their only hope.

Arthur pushed the double doors open with much authority. "Father," he started.

"Arthur, what is it you want?" Uther asked sitting on this throne, not caring that the ceiling above him was repaired.

"Those books that you locked up." He said bluntly. The king looked up at his son in amazement.

"I will never allow that." He boomed.

"But Merlin needs them to help stop the person after Camelot." Arthur declared.

"I will not permit a sorcerer to get their sly hands on books that can make them more powerful!"

"Please, father, he will give them right back once he is finished with them."

Uther rolled his eyes. "It doesn't matter anyway." Arthur looked skeptic. "I had them burned two years ago."

Arthur was about to argue when he decided it just was time being wasted and left the room without another word.

He returned to Merlin's chambers a few minutes later. He sat down in a chair at the table Merlin was studying at. "Well?" he asked.

Arthur sighed and shook his head. "It's going to be a long night."

**A/N: Please review! It means everything to me, really!**

**xoxoxo**


	10. Trust is a Battle Part 2

**A/N: Well here you go! Wow, chapter 10 already. I predict that there will be one or two more chapters and then an epilogue to finish it all off! Of course, I don't know where my wild imagination will take me. :) Thanks a million to all who reviewed, etc… I always do a little happy-dance inside my head when I see review on my email!**

**Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to the BBC and not me! =.(**

MORGANA

Dawn seemed to come too soon for her liking. The anxiety was unfathomable. She knew what to expect, but at the same time she had no idea. This day was going to unpredictable even for the Lady Morgana. Either way, Merlin had to win. If he did not then Uther would have his head this time, and her dream would come true after all…

She shook that from her troubled mind. Being worried about what will happen in the future was ridiculous and out of her control, sort of. This was silly! If Merlin got himself locked up again then surly Arthur would help him and so would she! There was nothing to worry about there, unless he died. No! That wouldn't happen, not again. Neither she nor Gwen would be able to stand that pain ever again. It was too unbearable knowing that that innocent boy that brought joy to so many was dead.

But this was all in the past and she knew this. It would not become the future as well.

MERLIN

Twelve hours. That was how long he had been pouring his brains out over Gaius' books. At first, Arthur and Gaius being there was helpful, but the prince really didn't know what he was looking for and after a while Arthur had fallen asleep over some book about plants. Why he started reading a plant book was beyond even him, a powerful warlock who could do just about anything! Gaius went to bed just before Arthur decided to use his leather bound book as a pillow.

Gaius would be furious if he came in and saw that Arthur had drooled all over his book. He would probably make him clean the leach tank again. Merlin shuttered at the thought. All of those slimy leeches crawling over him disgusted him. Ugh, and the smell…

That's it!

"Arthur, wake up!" Merlin nudged him.

"Uh, what time is it?" Arthur asked groggily.

"It's almost dawn."

"Good night."

Merlin turned back to a book he was reading. He really wished he didn't have to go this far, but it would be funny all the same! "Camelot is being attacked by magical creatures." He said calmly as he flipped a page.

Arthur shot his head up and brandished his sword whirling around the room looking for the threat that wasn't there. Merlin began to laugh making Arthur realize that it was only a trick. When Merlin looked up from all of his laughing he saw that the sword tip was pointed at him. His laughing stopped abruptly.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he asked warily.

"That. Was. Not. Funny." Arthur said through his teeth. A second later he put his sword away letting Merlin breathe a sigh of relief. The prince stared at him. "You didn't really think I was going to do anything, did you?" he asked a little hurt at his friend's distrust.

"No, of course not!" Merlin reassured him quickly and he regained his prince-like face. Then the warlock's face twisted into a bright smile. "And you're right, it wasn't funny. It was extremely entertaining!"

"Yes, let's all make fun of Arthur." He said harshly but there was some humor in his voice.

"Ok, I will!" Merlin joked.

"What's that?" Arthur asked instantly. Merlin stopped at the page he was on. "It looks powerful. Is it?"

Merlin studied the page. "Banishing Spell." He read aloud the Latin words.

"You can read that?"

He nodded and kept reading. "It's powerful alright. '_Will banish anyone you do not wish to have in your specific place.'"_ He stared at the small wording at the bottom. There were only two things standing in their way of doing this perfect spell.

"That's great! Merlin, I can't believe that I'm saying this, but you're a genius!" Arthur rejoiced. "What's wrong?"

Merlin looked up hesitantly. "I don't know if I can do this. I mean it might be too… experienced for me to do. I've only had a year or so of real experience."

"Of course you can! You're the most powerful sorcerer I know." He said with encouragement. Merlin cracked a smile.

"I'm the only sorcerer you know."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "You're making it unnecessarily hard to be a good friend, here."

"Sorry, but there's another problem we have. We would need some of Adam's blood for me to perform the spell." The words came out like punches in his gut. How was he supposed to get Adam's blood when he couldn't even capture him with his magic?

"Great," the prince mumbled. Obviously the same thought was going through his mind. He paced the room for a good ten minutes before he startled Merlin. "I've got it!" he practically yelled. "You'll practice on me." Arthur said proud of himself.

"You want me to banish you from your own kingdom for all of eternity?" Merlin asked skeptical. Arthur rolled his eyes yet again.

"No, I want you to practice how you're going to get Adam's blood, unless of course you're just going to go up to him and ask him for it." He said slyly. Merlin glared at him. This really wasn't a bad idea as long as the young warlock didn't hurt Arthur. "And since he doesn't have magic I'm the perfect practice dummy." Merlin opened his mouth to say something about that until Arthur stopped him. "Comment and I'll throw you in the stocks."

"Alright," Merlin said smugly. "And you're sure about this?"

Arthur nodded. "Do your worst."

Merlin sighed whilst Arthur drew his sword, gesturing him to start. The warlock's eyes flashed gold and Arthur's sword flew out of his hands. The prince smiled approving of this move. He dodged Merlin's next spell and dived for his sword. He was able to snatch it up and tripped Merlin onto the floor. Arthur got up and pointed his sword at the warlock's chest.

It looked like Merlin was giving up when he kicked Arthur's legs, knocking the sword out of his hands once more. Merlin got up and called for the sword to come to him. It obeyed instantly by flying up to him and landed in his hand. He held it behind his back and stretched his arm out. The spell he chanted plastered Arthur to the ground.

When the prince couldn't get up Merlin smiled in satisfaction.

UTHER

All morning, he had been looking for his son. He would have thought that he was out training his knights, preparing for the fight to come. This seemed practical especially for the best knight in Camelot.

Uther asked around. The people he had asked did not say that Arthur was out training, but they hadn't seen him since last night. Others said that last night they saw him walk with his servant, Merlin, to his chambers. This left Uther shocked.

He wasn't out training, but with a _sorcerer_! This was outrageous! For some strange reason his son had full trust in this sorcerer even after he had been taught all of his life that magic was evil. It even seemed that he and this Merlin were_ friends_. All of this was too much, but if that boy could stop the person behind the danger that threatens Camelot then he might be able to learn to deal with him. The second he does something wrong and betrays Camelot, his execution WILL happen no matter what, though.

Uther found Gaius' chambers and walked in. What he saw made him freeze and grab for his sword. Merlin was standing over his son, who was on the floor, with his sword in one hand and the other out stretched, aiming at Arthur's chest. He had been using sorcery on Arthur! He knew he never should have trusted a sorcerer.

When the boy saw the king watching him and pointing a sword directly at him, Merlin's eyes flashed gold without even saying a spell.

MERLIN

"King Uther!" Merlin said shocked out of his mind. He bowed respectively. The king's sword was getting closer and closer to him. This had his heart pounding a mile a minute. Now, he knew that Arthur wouldn't really hurt him, but his father was a different story. Merlin glanced back to see Arthur still on the floor, though he didn't know why. He reversed the spell the second Uther came in.

"I knew I should never have let you out of the cell." Uther hissed. Arthur's eyes got wide and stood up.

"No, father…"

"Don't defend him, Arthur." The king ordered. Arthur ignored this.

"Father, I know what you're thinking and don't. He wasn't going to hurt me or anything." Arthur said quickly. Merlin nodded to the king and took a small step back letting father and son have their own quarrel.

"Then explain why he was standing over you about to use magic!" he boomed.

"I told him to."

"_What?"_

"Yes, you see he found a spell to get rid of the person responsible, but for the spell to work Merlin needs his blood. I simply wanted him to practice on me, but he never would have hurt me. He values his life too much for that." Arthur looked back at Merlin. _"You owe me!"_

"_I'll repay you when I save your ass, again!"_ Merlin thought back to him. Arthur knew that this was true and nodded. The two boys received a confused look from Uther- well as confused as the harsh King Uther Pendragon can look.

The sword drifted closer to Merlin's heart. Uther spoke so low, but so scary sounding. "If you try anything, I think you know what will happen."

"Yes, sire!" Merlin said confidently. Suddenly, the worst happened. Screams erupted from everywhere. The castle shook and dusk floated down making Merlin's hair grey. "I have to go." He rushed out of the room repeating the spell over and over under his breath. "Barith caris Camelot, barith caris Camelot, barith caris Camelot…"

Arthur was right on his heal. "Do you need the book?" he asked. Merlin shot him a you-have-got-to-be-kidding look and repeated the spell.

"Barith caris Camelot," Arthur chuckled.

"Right,"

In the courtyard hundreds of people were screaming and yelling. "Arthur, your dagger," Merlin grabbed for it eagerly when Arthur got it out for him and ran into the chaos in search for Adam.

At first it seemed that it would be impossible to find him in this crowd. Everyone was screaming and rushing children along. Some tripped or were pushed into walls by people who tried to get past in a hurry. Merlin looked up at the sky when he spotted Adam. He was up on the stone bridge between two towers observing what was happening.

Merlin felt anger wash over him at the sight of his father. He began running for the stairs. If only there was some device that took you up to the floor you wanted faster! Merlin ran faster towards the stairs. It was taking too long.

The magic in his blood boiled to breaking point and he couldn't hold it in any longer! It took over by instinct. Suddenly, he was on the bridge with Adam. His magic had transported him there. He could rejoice later. Now all that mattered was getting Adam's blood.

His father turned to face him, surprised to see him up there with him. Merlin remembered every move he had done with Arthur. This was the time to put those moves with violence and more powerful magic that he hoped he possessed.

With a gold twinkle in his eye, Adam was on the ground unable to move. Merlin acted quickly and sliced Adam's arm soaking the knife with warm, red blood. His concentration on the spell broke and Adam silently called for the sorcerer's to come.

"_Barith…"_ The sorcerer's ganged up on him and shot something at Merlin, but he wasn't paying attention to what exactly it was doing to him. It was causing him extreme pain and that was all he cared about. The spell! He had to say the spell! "_Barith car…_"

Adam laughed in disgust. The pain was so overwhelming that the simple laugh sounded like a screech in his ears. Merlin collapsed onto his hands and knees trying to keep his head from hitting the ground. He couldn't give up no matter what happened. He couldn't let Camelot suffer, not like he is.

The pain grew to excruciating, yet somehow the magic in his blood still boiled. It wasn't giving up until it reached the surface and shone through. This gave Merlin just enough strength…

"_Barith caris Camelot_" he said faintly with the bloody knife still in his right hand. "_Barith caris Camelot"_ he said louder, but it still did nothing.

Adam's laugh grew louder and louder. The screech burned in his ears. All the pain that that man had caused him flashed back to his brain. When he left his family… when he returned… when he asked for an undeserved favor… when he wanted to hurt his home…

"_Barith caris Camelot_" Merlin shouted as loud as he possibly could with as much energy and magic as he could conjure up!

The sorcerers stood back, relieving Merlin. A bright blue light appeared out from behind Adam. It swirled blowing dust and smoke into every crevice with a strong wind that it made things hard to see. Merlin squinted trying to see what was going on, but was unsuccessful. The last thing he heard- and all of Camelot heard- was Adam's blood curdling scream. When the wind and light stopped Adam was gone, nowhere in sight.

The other sorcerers, who had multiplied up to five instead of three, were staring shocked at Merlin. Arthur stepped up behind them, just out of sight. They made eye contact. "_Feel the wrath of Merlin."_ Merlin smiled darkly at the remaining five.

"Anyone else?" he asked. The sorcerers looked at each other and disappeared instantly. "And don't come back." He whispered.

**A/N: Please tell me what you all think. Reviews mean the world to me, really!!! **


	11. Uther's Final Decision

**A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews I have gotten! You are all spectacular! I edited this chapter a few times and this is the one I decided to go with, so please review it! Please, please, it means so much to me! :)**

**Disclaimer: Merlin is the BBC's and not mine.**

MERLIN

"_And don't come back."_

Merlin looked up desperately at the sky as the clouds darkened and rain began to fall on his face. Even though the sorcerer's spell of torture was lifted from him, he was still in pure agony. The warlock heard footsteps coming close to his side. Whoever it was, they were running and shouting… something?

"Merlin?" the person shouted. Merlin didn't know if it was the sorcerer's spell or the spell that _he_ had cast that took all the energy and good feelings out of him. He collapsed on the ground a second later. "Merlin?" the voice was closer and suddenly someone was shaking him. "Someone must get Gaius, the physician, now!" he shouted. It must be Arthur, but all voices sounded the same at the moment.

Time seemed to pass, but if it was hours or minutes it really didn't matter to him. Maybe now he was going to be on Uther's good side- if he even has a good side. If Adam was really gone then that means that he actually did the spell right and with enough power! But now he was completely drained of energy and the ability to move. The magic that those other sorcerers did would definitely make him hurt in the morning.

Arthur's voice seemed to get more urgent and Merlin tried with all of his force to open his eyes or his mouth and really say something comprehendible. He better try!

"Arthur, uh, what happened?" Merlin whispered. He used Arthur's arm to lift his torso up off the wet stone. "My head hurts like hell!"

Arthur chuckled with a hint of anxiety. "You got rid of Adam, Merlin. He's gone and you have no idea how grateful my father is." He told him with a proud smile. "Just don't expect him to say anything about it."

"The spell came out right?" Merlin asked sounding drunk. Arthur nodded. "Ha HA!" Merlin got up quickly, perhaps a little too quickly. He began to tumble over and Arthur had to catch him before he fell off the castle and become a pile of smooshed sorcerer.

"Careful. Maybe you should sit down again." Arthur suggested and pushed his friend down. "Is Gaius here yet?!" he shouted to the guards that were just standing around. At that moment Gaius came up the stairs and over to Merlin, a number of potions in his hands that clicked and clanked against each other with every step.

"Hi, Gaius," Merlin greeted him with a smile. He was obviously proud of himself for successfully doing the powerful spell.

"Is he going to be alright?" Arthur asked instantly.

"Sire," Gaius turned to face him. "I haven't even checked him yet, but I'm sure he'll be fine after some rest." The physician said slowly.

"Uh, the rain is bugging me." Merlin grumbled.

"You can't really do anything about the weather, Merlin." The prince said with a dramatic eye roll. Merlin smiled again and looked up at the sky, letting the rain drench his face.

"_Weaser raynus"_ he murmured. The clouds cleared up and the rain ceased. Everyone in the courtyard below started to gasp at the strange change in the weather. "You're welcome." Merlin muttered. Gaius checked him over and gave him a potion for his head. Merlin braved the thick, green potion and shoved it down his reluctant throat.

"Where's the sorcerer?" a familiar voice asked from below. Arthur and Merlin peaked over the edge to see Uther discussing something with a guard.

"He… disappeared, Your Majesty." The guard said hesitantly. Uther fumed at this.

"Never again…" he cursed. The king looked up to see the two boys looking down on him. Merlin waved receiving a slap on the back of the head by Arthur. Merlin shrugged and walked off down the stairs with Arthur by his side.

"Hello, sire." Merlin greeted the king, bowing his head ever so slightly.

"You _will_ bow to your king!" Uther yelled at Merlin.

"Sorry, sire." He corrected himself and took a bow. "Ow," he said softly. Bending over had sent a pain shooting through his side. Merlin sucked in air through his teeth and closed his eyes enduring the pain.

Uther looked to his son for the explanation for his manservant's behavior.

"He was injured by sorcerers." Arthur said with his arms crossed looking at Merlin worried.

"Why would sorcerers turn on you if you are one as well?" Uther asked his voice was still crude as ever. Merlin took in a deep breath before answering.

"_How many times do I have to tell you?!"_ he wanted to say so badly, but that would be disrespectful and could spell out death. He settled on, "I fought against them, and they probably don't like competition." He said with a small smile at the last bit that he added for his own benefit. It was time he got some credit around here!

Uther nodded and walked off. "Be in the throne room at three o'clock SHARP!" he boomed over his shoulder.

Arthur snorted.

"Do you think you can be on time for once?" the prince teased.

"Unless I go to sleep in the mean time, my body is killing me!" Merlin said with a small yelp as he stood up straight.

"You can sleep all you want _after_ the trial." Arthur suggested. "We all could use some of it." Arthur said whist stretching his arms.

"Yeah, I guess you're right!" Merlin said.

"I'm always right." Arthur teased.

ARTHUR

The prince returned to his chambers, awaiting Merlin's final trial at three o'clock. He feared the worst, but hoped for the best. His father couldn't have him executed after all that he's been doing, like saving Camelot and Arthur, and Camelot, Arthur, Arthur, Camelot…

And the list continues! Arthur knew that his father would never like Merlin at all, just use him like utensils; useful when you need them, but once you're done with them just throw them back in the cupboard!

Arthur began listing the things he was definitely going to change once he was king. Firstly, the no magic rule. What had Merlin said about Uther's ignorance? "Magic is evil! Off with your head!" Arthur chuckled at that memory. What kind of saying was 'off with your head'? When you have Merlin as a friend, you never have a dull moment, especially now.

Secondly, he felt a sudden need for a table. Square, maybe? No, no, definitely not square. Perhaps a round table instead! Yes, a round would be good and he would use it for his knights! Knights of the Round Table! That sounds weird. Oh well, he had plenty of time to think about that.

"_Back on subject…"_ he thought to himself. Arthur looked at the big clock. It was five minutes until three. He headed out the door and down the stairs. His father would expect him to be there- like he would really miss this- before Merlin got there.

He pushed the doors open and went to stand with Morgana. She was looking worried and Uther was sitting on the throne looking smug like this was a big waste of time. The clock ticked by and still no Merlin.

"_Merlin, where in the hell are you?!"_ Arthur thought to his manservant.

"_I'm right outside the doors."_ He answered bluntly.

"_Then come in!"_

"_But Uther said 'three o'clock SHARP!'"_

"_Merlin, get in here NOW!"_

Just then, Merlin stepped through the doors. Uther sat up slightly in his chair and Morgana stiffened. They were only four people in the room, which was probably a good thing. It would make Merlin less nervous, maybe, or not…

"You are a sorcerer and you do not deny these accusations." Uther began. "You have used magic in my kingdom and in front of me as well." Merlin nodded. "I told you that if you got rid of this person who sought to destroy Camelot then I might give you a chance at life,_ might_."

"Thank you, sire." Merlin bowed again, keeping his head low.

"I will give you a two week trial basis, but if you even think about double crossing me…" Uther threatened again. Merlin's confidence went up a level. "When the two weeks are over and you have not done anything wrong, then you will be able to live. But keep in mind, sorcerer, if you use magic to do any harm to Camelot no matter when or what it is, you will permanently be locked up and executed."

Merlin smiled and laughed. "Thank you, thank you, sire!" Merlin bowed again. "You will not regret it, I swear it!"

Uther nodded and dismissed Merlin. Arthur quickly followed after him with Morgana right next to him. "So that's it?" she spoke up. "Two weeks and it's all over?" Merlin and Arthur exchanged looks before bursting into fits of laughter. "What?"

"Morgana," Arthur said in between laughs. "After all we've been through, after all the times we've thought it was over, what happens later?"

"He does have a point, you know?" Merlin said. Morgana rolled her eyes at both of them.

"I'm going to my chambers to tell Gwen the good news." Morgana left them and headed down the long corridor.

"Merlin," Arthur stopped him. "You do know that you don't have to come to work for a while, seeing as you were injured today."

Merlin cracked a smile. "Oh, Arthur, you know I'm too stubborn to agree to that! As long as we don't hunt then I'm fine to work!" he said. "Or if I have to clean and repair armor, clean your room, wash your stinky clothes, shine your boots…"

"Oh, please help me!" Arthur mumbled under his breath as Merlin continued his ever going list.

**A/N: So there is the conclusion to chapter 11! Review!!!!**


	12. Epilogue: Adjusting

**A/N: Dun, dun, dun, duuu… the final chapter has officially arrived! All of the reviews have been simply wonderful and always made my day! Thanks again to all who reviewed and favored or story alerted!**

**Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine :( **

MERLIN

"Merlin!" the prince yelled at his manservant that was cuddled up in his thin covers. "Get up, you idiot! It's almost noon." Arthur said as he removed the sheet from Merlin's cold body.

"Ugh, go away." The warlock grumbled into his pillow.

It had been three months since Uther's final decision to let Merlin live. Obviously he had not gotten on the king's nerves since then. The people of Camelot were starting to get used to having a legal magician in the kingdom. Although some disagreed with their king's choice to let Merlin live, while other's liked the idea of him being around. Even the head knight, Sir Leon, was starting to warm up to him a little. The people who tried to pick on Merlin always had to answer to Arthur, which of course made them cower off, cursing under their breaths as they went.

"That I will not!" he said and lifted Merlin by his shirt. As always, the warlock stumbled over his feet. Arthur rolled his eyes at him and pushed him out the door. "Gaius," he greeted. "My friend, Merlin here, needs something to eat before this hectic day." The prince informed the old physician.

Gaius responded quickly, not asking any questions, and shoved Merlin a slice of bread. Arthur grabbed it and forced it in his mouth.

"What are you doing? I can feed myself." Merlin said with his mouth full of dry bread. He was still tired and in a daze. Gaius chuckled at the boys' strangeness. "Why is today going to be hectic, anyway?"

"Aw, well we are going hunting!" Arthur informed a groaning Merlin. "I haven't been hunting in a long time. You've had it easy around here, lately." He slapped the warlock on the back.

Merlin sighed. "I'll go get the horses, sire." Arthur stopped him.

"They are already ready." He told him and dragged him along. "Wave, goodbye to Gaius." He said as though he was talking to a three year old. Merlin just groaned exceedingly loudly.

Merlin and Arthur rode off into the woods with five knights behind them. Arthur thought that having those knights follow them was ridiculous since he had Merlin, but Uther seemed to think that having them around would keep Merlin 'on his toes' so he doesn't try anything 'suspicious', but if it kept Merlin alive, neither one of them would say anything about the knights.

They rode deeper and deeper into the woods before Arthur stopped and jumped off of his horse, followed by his servant and then the knights.

Merlin handed Arthur his crossbow as he crouched down in the underbrush. There were two deer a few feet in front of them. The prince took his aim just before an arrow flew out of nowhere. Arthur drew his sword as did the knights. Merlin was spinning around looking for the attacker. Another arrow flew by, this time hitting a knight in the arm.

"Merlin," Sir Leon called. The young warlock already knew what he was going to say. He was supposed to do what he always does; save Arthur's life along with a few knights of Camelot.

Merlin nodded to him and was filing through every spell that was cemented in his memory. He didn't know who was attacking, and the arrows seemed to have stopped. Unfortunately, about fifteen armed men circled them and enclosed them into a tight group.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Arthur said with his sword still held out even though the bulkiest man had his sword pointing right at the prince.

"You're out numbered, Prince Arthur of Camelot." The man said in his gruff voice. His clothes were patched up and he had a bushy beard that was very unkempt. "We can take you and your men out in a matter of minutes, unless of course you'll do as we say."

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "You've messed with the wrong person." He said cockily. _"Are you ready, Merlin?"_ he thought to his servant that was standing directly behind him.

"_More than you think."_ Merlin thought back.

"And who's going to protect you? If you would look around, Prince Arthur, all of your knights are restrained and unarmed." Arthur and Merlin looked around to see that indeed every man was being held captive by one of this raider's men.

Arthur lowered his sword and stepped aside to let Merlin be seen. The man boomed with laughter. "You're servant? That scrawny, big-eared thing can stop me?" he laughed more and more, and this was getting on Merlin's last nerve.

The young warlock smiled slyly and raised his arm. This made the raider's eyes widen as he started to catch on to what this 'scrawny servant' was. _"Ospious grouty hatiourh" _His eyes flashed a bright gold and the magic did all the fighting.

First, all of the sword handles got to extreme temperatures making the enemy drop them. This also broke their concentration on holding the knights and they were freed.

Second, a huge gust of wind was conjured. The treetops rustled and its leaves shook, threatening to fall on top of their heads. The wind flew the raiders back deeper into the woods or up against trees, knocking them out cold.

Finally, the worst was over. The knights retrieved their swords and just stared at Merlin with amazement, and perhaps fear as well. Arthur seemed to be the only one who was completely fine and wasn't shocked.

"What?" he asked his men. When no one answered Arthur rolled his eyes. "You're scared of Merlin? _Merlin?_" he sighed with frustration. "I'm not even scared of him, for goodness sakes! And he's my servant, that was right under my nose the whole time!" he argued and shook his head. "We're riding back to Camelot." He said and jumped back on his scared horse.

Merlin rode right by his as he usually did and began talking, or thinking. _"You know you didn't need to say that."_

"_Yes I did. You're my friend and they need to start understanding that you have the kingdom's full trust, warlock or not."_

"_Thanks, Arthur."_

"_Don't start getting all mushy on me, Merlin, or I'll have you thrown in the stocks!"_

The 'talking' ended after that followed by the two of them laughing loudly at their little inside conversation. This got them strange looks form the men riding behind them. They also couldn't help but laugh at the knights as well.

They arrived back to Camelot twenty minutes later. Merlin went back to his chambers when Arthur went to see his father.

"How was the hunt?" Gaius asked.

"Horrible, we got attacked." He said with a yawn, acting like it was an everyday thing. Merlin laid back in a wooden chair. Gaius looked very concerned despite Merlin's casual tone to the subject. "Don't worry," he said as he raised his hands defensively. "I took care of it as always, just I get the credit now." He closed his eyes hoping for some well deserved rest.

"Merlin," Gaius started before the door flew open.

"Merlin, you have a job." It was Arthur. "My father is in need of assistance from the only sorcerer in Camelot."

"Oh, great," He groaned. Uther had been ordering him around more than Arthur had ever done. He always wanted Merlin to see if some crimes were caused my magic or if he could fix something that was unfixable without magical assistance- sorry 'if' was the wrong word to use. More like _ordered _or _threatened_ him to fix something or it would be the stocks or worse…

"Let me guess, more griffins on the loose or another girl who enchanted you and tried to sacrifice you." Merlin asked with a hint of malice.

"No, it's not… wait, what girl?!"

**A/N: THE END**

**So there you have it! :) It is now complete and if you could, would you please click the little box down below here that says 'Review', it would be MUCH appreciated! Thanks for all of your support, ya'll are the best!**

**xoxoxoxo**


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